ASSIGNMENT

ON

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Topic: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT &

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

Submitted by ,

Name - Wanborlang Nongsiej

Department – LAW, B.A LLB
Semester - 8 Semester
Roll no – 59
Subject – Environmental Law
University – NEHU,Shillong

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 TABLE OF CASES

Sl.No Page.No

1. A.P Control Pollution Board v. M.V. Nayudu 6

2. A.Jagannath v. Union of India 7

3. M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath 11

4. Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India 9

5. Vellore Citizens’ welfare Forum v. Union of India 9

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 CONTENT

Sl.No Page.No

 INTRODUCTION 4
 BASIC OBJECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 5
 SALIENT PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 6-12
 Inter – Generational Equity
 Use and Conservation of Natural Resources
 Environmental protection
 Precautionary principle
 Polluter Pays Principle
 Principle of Liability to Help and Co Operate
 Poverty Eradication
 PROTECTION OF FORESTS 13

 ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS 14
 TYPES OF HAZARDS 15-17
 Chemical
 Physical
 Biological
 Psychosocial

 CONCLUSION 18
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 19

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 INTRODUCTION

The principle of sustainable development has evolved on the basic assumption of co-existence of two
apparently conflicting notions i.e. development and environment. But from the practical point of view,
ecological, economic and social aspects of sustainability are inseparable.
Explaining the inter-dependence of conservation and sustainable development, the Brundtland Report
(1997) said:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their, own needs…. Sustainable development requires meeting the
basic needs of all and extending to all opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life.”

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 Basic objectives of Sustainable Development

The principle of sustainable development seeks to achieve the following three basic objectives:

(1) to maintain production of goods and services for development and efficiency;
(2) conversation and management of neutral resources including preservation of bio-diversity and
maintenance of biological integrity;
(3) maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life adopting the principle of equitable distribution of
wealth and material resources.

These objective may respectively be called as economic, environmental and social objectives of the
principle of sustainable development.
From the environmental point of view, the objective of the principle of sustainable development centres
round three issues, namely, (i) to maintain essential ecological processes, (ii) to preserve genetic diversity;
and (iii) to secure sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.

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 Salient Principles of Sustainable Development

The principle of sustainable development which received international recognition as a result of Brundtland
Commission Report (1987) was overwhelmingly supported by all the nations. Some of the salient principles
which underlie the concept of sustainable development were spelled out in the Rio Declaration, 1992 and
Agenda 21. Therefore, these principles have got to be necessarily followed in order to achieve the objective
of sustainable development. These principles are as follows:

(1) Inter-Generational Equity.- The principle of inter-generational equity pre-supposes the right of each
generation of human beings to benefit from cultural and natural resources of the past generation as well as
the ‘obligation’ to preserve such heritage for future generations. The principle emphasises on conservation
of biodiversity resources and of the renewable sources like forests, water, soil etc.

The principle of inter-generational equity has its genesis in Principles 1 and 2 of the Stockholm
Declaration, 1972 wherein environment has been taken to be resource basis for the survival of the present
generation and right to be beneficially used by the future generations. Both these principles are reproduced
as follows:
Principle 1.- Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an
environment of quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to
protect and improve the environment for the present and future generations.

Principle 2.- The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, lands, flora and fauna, and
especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of the present
and future generations through careful planning and management, as appropriate.

In A.P. Pollution Control Board v. M.V. Nayudu1, the Apex Court observed that where the State
Government makes an attempt to balance the need of the environment and need of the economic
development, it would not be proper to prohibit it from doing so. In such a case, it would be safer to apply
the ‘protective principle’ and the ‘principle of polluter pays’, keeping in mind the principle of sustainable
development and the ‘principle of inter-generational equity!

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S.O.L Case no. 53
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 2. Use And Conservation of Natural Resources - This principle requires that earth's natural resources
should be carefully used in such a way that they may be conserved and enhanced for the future generation.
It must be borne in mind that natural resources are already depleting due to poverty, over- population,
urbanisation, industrialisation etc. and there is likely to be acute shortage of these resources in future.
Therefore, there is dire need to develop techniques and technologies which may need minimal utilization of
natural resources.

The principle of use and conservation of resources is founded on the theory that the present generation
should be modest in their exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of the future generations. This
will secure the conditions of survival for future generations. This principle has been accepted by the
international community in the form of Principles 8 and 23 of the Rio Earth Summit Declaration, 1992.
Principle 8 provides that in order to achieve sustainable development and a high quality of life for all
people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable pattern of production and consumption. Thus, use
and conservation of natural resources should be an essential principle of sustainable development.

Similarly, Principle 23 of the Rio-Declaration (1992) specifically states that the environment and natural
resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation, shall be protected by all means.
The Supreme Court applying the principle of careful use and conservation of natural resources, observed in
the case of A. Jagannath v. Union of India2, that activities of the industries violative of this principle and of,
environmental legislations must be discouraged.

In Indian Handicrafts Emporium v. Union of India, the indigenous ivory or ivory articles were prohibited
from being exported as it impugned Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and was also against the moral claims
embodied under Article 048-A of the Constitution and principle of conservation of natural resources.

3. Environmental protection
Environmental protection is an integral part of sustainable development. Most of the nations have enacted
environmental protection laws to ensure sustainable development within their territories. In order to
reinforce sustainable development, an effective environmental protection mechanism is needed. It is
generally seen that inadequate protection of environment or its degradation affects the poorest sections of
the society most as they draw a large part of their livelihood from unmarked environmental resources such
as forests, water from hand pumps, air polluted and noisy slum dwellings etc. The problem of
environmental protection generally emanates from water resources, forests, agriculture, industry, energy
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11 Dec 1996
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and power etc., therefore, policy decisions in these sectors should be environmental oriented and well
planned so as to ensure that there is no degradation in the natural environment.

So far India is concerned, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is the central legislation. Besides, there
are some other pollution control and prevention laws and States have also framed their own anti-pollution
laws according to their local requirements. The ultimate object is to ensure sustainable development for
protection of environment from being degraded or polluted.

4. Precautionary Principle
The precautionary principle seeks to ensure that a substance or human activity which may cause a threat to
the environment is prevented from causing harm to environment, even if there is no conclusive scientific
proof of linking that particular substance or human activity to environmental damage. Thus, precautionary
principle pre-supposes that onus of proof is on the industrialist to show that his action is benign, that is not
harmful to environment.

The precautionary principle in the context of environmental protection is essentially about the management
of scientific risk. It is a component of the concept of ecologically sustainable development and has been
defined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration, 1992.” According to this principle, “where there is threat of
serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason
for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation." In other words, any human activity or
behaviour which bears the harmful effect to the environment, has got to prevented at all costs.

It may be stated that prior to the precautionary principle as incorporated in Principle 15 of the Rio-
Declaration, 1992, Principle 6 of the Stockholm Declaration, 1972 relating to the Assimilative Capacity
Principle was the governing rule which provided as under :-
“The discharge of toxic substances or of substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or
concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in
order to ensure that serious irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystem. The just struggle of the
peoples of all countries against pollution should be supported.”

Thus, the assimilative capacity principle assumed that science could provide policy-makers the information
and means necessary to avoid encroaching upon the capacity of the environment to assimilate impacts and
it is presumed that relevant technical expertise would be available when environmental harm was predicted
and there would be sufficient time to act in order to avoid such harm.
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 The precautionary principle has received legal recognition in almost all the international instruments and
has now become an integral part of the United Nations Environmental Programme. The European
Community has adopted the principle in the Bergen Declaration on Sustainable Development, 1990 and
reiterated that environment related actions should predict, prevent and ‘suppress environmentally harmful
factors’.

Beginning with Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India3, the

Supreme Court explicitly recognised the precautionary principle as a principle of Indian environmental law
in a number of subsequent cases. Justice Kuldeep Singh of the Supreme Court in Vellore Citizens case laid
down the following rules with regard to precautionary principle :-
(1) The State Governments and local authorities are supposed to anticipate and then prevent the cause of
environmental degradation. They are supposed to check the activity which is damaging for environment;
(2) Merely because there is a lack of scientific knowledge as to whether a particular activity is causing
degradation, it should not stand in the way of the Government;
(3) The onus of proof is on the actor (i.e. person who does the activity) or the developer/industrialist to
show that the action was environmentally friendly.
In order to achieve the above, the following precautions are supposed to be taken:
(i) The decision should be based on best possible scientific information and analysis of risk;
(ii) Where there is uncertainty but potentially serious list exists, even then precautionary measures are
supposed to be taken;
(iii) Ecological impacts should be given paramount consideration, more so when resources are non-
renewable or where the result is irreversible;
(iv) The indication of the cost should be made known directly to the person who if does not take precaution,
can be called upon to meet the expense – a subject which may fall under the head “polluter pays Ii
principle.”

In Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India4, the Apex Court explained that “when there is a state of
uncertainty due to lack of data or material about the extent of damage or pollution likely to be caused, then
in order to maintain ecological balance, the burden of proof that the said balance will be maintained, must
necessarily be on the industry or the unit which is likely to cause pollution.”

3
AIR 1996 SC 2715.
4
18 Oct 2000 SC
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 5. “Polluter Pays” Principle
All the member countries participating in the Organisation For Economic Co-operation and Development
(O.E.C.D.) agreed to incorporate in their environmental policies the principle of 'polluter pays' so as to
discourage subsidies that could be detrimental for trade. They deemed this necessary for the protection of
environment and save the country from threats posed by environmental pollution in modernised industrial
societies. “Polluter Pays” principle was considered to be one of the best method for prevention of
environmental pollution. But there were practical difficulties in working out an exact definition of the
principle as there could be dispute as to the limits on payment for damages caused and exact scope of the
applicability of principle.

Despite these difficulties, the European Community in its Action Programme on Environment had accepted
the ‘polluter pays’ principle as a part of its strategy on environmental matters. The principle Was
incorporated in Article 130 R (2) of the action programme which reads as follows :-
(i) Preventive action is always preferable to remedial action;
(ii) Environmental damage should be rectified at source;
(iii) The polluter should pay the costs of the measures taken to protect and preserve the environment;
(iv) environmental policies should be a component of the European Community’s other policies.

Finally, the “polluter pays” principle was recognised as an integral part of the sustainable development by
the international community arid was incorporated as Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration of Earth Summit,
1992. The principle reads as follows :-
“Principle 16 National authorities should endeavour to promote the internationalisation of environmental
costs and the use of economic instruments taking into account the approach that the polluter should in
principle bear the cost of pollution with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international
trade and investment.”

As a matter of fact, this principle was already accepted and included as Principle 4 of the Stockholm
Declaration in 1972 but it was legally and internationally recognised as a substantive principle of
environmental law under Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration, 1992.

The Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v, Kamal Nath5, observed that ‘polluter pays principle has been
recognised as fundamental objective of Government's environmental policy to prevent and control
pollution. The Court in this case observed that the calculation of environmental damages should not be on
5
(1997)1 SCC 388
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 the basis of claim put forward by the party, but it should be on the basis of examination of the situation by
the Court, keeping in view the factors such as deterrent nature of the award.

In Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India6, the Supreme Court directed the Central
Government to constitute an authority under Section 3 (3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and
confer on this authority all the powers necessary to deal with the situation created by tanneries and other
polluting industries in the State of Tamil Nadu. The authori7ty so constituted shall implement the
‘precautionary principle’ and the ‘Polluter Pays Principle.’

6. Principle of Liability to help and Co-operate

This principle has been specifically incorporated in Rio-Declaration (1992) as Principle 9 which provides
that the States should co-operate to strengthen indigenous capacity building for sustainable development by
improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge and by
enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies including new and innovative
technologies.

Principle 10 of the Rio-Declaration further provides that environmental issues are best handled with the
participation of all concerned citizens at the relevant level. Emphasising the need for mutual cooperation in
environmental matters, Principle 12 requires the States to cooperate to promote a supportive and open
international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all
countries, in order to address the problem of environmental degradation in a better way.

Finally, Principle 27 of the Rio Declaration expects people and the States to co-operate in good faith and in
a spirit of partnership in the future development of international law in the field of sustainable development.

7. Poverty Eradication
Poverty is perhaps the worst contributing factor for polluting the environment and causing its degradation.
Smt. Indira Gandhi, the Late former Prime Minister of India, addressing the Stockholm Conference on
Human Environment in 1972 said, “of all pollutants we face, the worst is poverty”. The Brundtland Report
(1987) also attributed poverty as a potential cause of environmental degradation as it reduces people’s
capacity to use resources in a sustainable manner, which eventually brings more pressure on environment
and results into its deterioration. Most of the developing countries’ are facing the problem of poverty which

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AIR 1996 SC 2715
7

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is adversely affecting the environmental quality.

The Earth Summit, 1992 also projected that elimination of poverty was utmost necessary for achieving the
goal of sustainable development, particularly m the developing countries.

India being a developing country, its more than 30 per cent people are living below the poverty line. The
pitiable condition 'of slum-dwellers, scaricity of food, fuel, kerosene oil etc. are serious threats for
environment. Due to lack of residential, houses crores of poor men, women and children are compelled to
live in slums and even on road-side temporary hutment in most unsanitary conditions without sufficient
food and water. Thus, they have to live in unwholesome environmental conditions. Therefore, India needs
cooperation and assistance from the developed countries to help and support the poverty alleviation
programme and maintenance of wholesome environmental conditions.

Protection of Forests
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It must be stated that awareness about the protection of forests is also closely with the principle of public
trust applicable for the preservation of natural resources. The State being a trustee of forest-resource, it is
the moral and legal obligation of the Government to protect forests from being destroyed by indiscriminate
felling of trees. If forests are well preserved, it will reduce soil erosion and increase fertility of land and also
cause sufficient rainfall which is necessary for cultivation and domestic purposes in the form of water. But
despite these benefits from forests, the record shows that almost one-third of the part of the forest in
tropical region had been destroyed due to deforestation until the year 1970. Unfortunately, destruction of
forest still continues and nearly 1,70,000 sq. k.m. forest land has been converted into plain for construction
of industries, complexes and other commercial purposes. Besides, seven lakh hectare land has turned into
desert and gallons of polluted water is being flowed in rivers, lakes and seas causing irreparable damage to
environment and ecosystem.

In view of this destruction of forests, the Government is failing in its duties as trustee of this valuable
natural resource and causing damage to its beneficiaries i.e., the peop1e could not exploit it for their own
use, what to talk of leaving it for use by future generations'! Even now, it is not too late and there is need on
the part of the State to protect and preserve the valuable natural resources as a trustee and people to
cooperate with the administration to protect environment from being degraded.

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Environmental hazard

An environmental hazard is a substance, a state or an event which has the potential to threaten the surrounding
natural environment / or adversely affect people's health, including n]] and natural disasters such as storms and
earthquakes. Any single or combination of toxic chemical, biological, or physical agents in the environment,
resulting from human activities or natural processes, that may impact the health of exposed subjects, including
pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, biological contaminants, toxic waste, industrial and home chemicals.

Human-made hazards while not immediately health-threatening may turn out detrimental to man's well-being
eventually, because deterioration in the environment can produce secondary, unwanted negative effects on the
human ecosphere. The effects of water pollution may not be immediately visible because of a sewage system that
helps drain off toxic substances. If those substances turn out to be persistent (e.g. persistent organic pollutant),
however, they will literally be fed back to their producers via the food chain: plankton -> edible fish -> humans. In
that respect, a considerable number of environmental hazards listed below are man-made (anthropogenic) hazards.

TYPES OF HAZARDS

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Hazards can be categorized in four types:

1. Chemical
2. Physical (mechanical, etc.)
3. Biological
4. Psychosocial.

Chemical

Chemical hazards are defined in the Globally Harmonized System and in the European Union chemical

regulations. They are caused by chemical substances causing significant damage to the environment. The label is
particularly applicable towards substances with aquatic toxicity. An example is zinc oxide, a common paint
pigment, which is extremely toxic to aquatic life.

Toxicity or other hazards do not imply an environmental hazard, because elimination by sunlight (photolysis),
water (hydrolysis) or organisms (biological elimination) neutralizes many reactive or poisonous substances.
Persistence towards these elimination mechanisms combined with toxicity gives the substance the ability to do
damage in the long term. Also, the lack of immediate human toxicity does not mean the substance is
environmentally nonhazardous. For example, tanker truck-sized spills of substances such as milk can cause a lot of
damage in the local aquatic ecosystems: the added biological oxygen demand causes rapid eutrophication, leading
to anoxic conditions in the water body.

All hazards in this category are mainly anthropogenic although there exist a number of natural carcinogens and
chemical elements like radon and lead may turn up in health-critical concentrations in the natural environment:

 Anthrax
 Antibiotic agents in animals destined for human consumption
 Arsenic - a contaminant of fresh water sources (water wells)
 Asbestos - carcinogenic
 DDT
 Carcinogens
 dioxins
 Endocrine disruptors
 Explosive material
 Fungicides
 Furans
 Haloalkanes
 Heavy metals
 Herbicides
 Hormones in animals destined for human consumption
 Lead in paint
 Marine debris
 mercury
 Mutagens
 Pesticides
 Polychlorinated biphenyls
 Radon and other natural sources of radioactivity
 Soil pollution
 Tobacco smoking
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  Toxic waste

Physical

A physical hazard is a type of occupational hazard that involves environmental hazards that can cause harm with or
without contact. There are many types of physical hazards. Some of them are as follows:-

 Cosmic rays
 Drought
 Earthquake
 Electromagnetic fields
 E-waste
 Floods
 Fog
 Light pollution
 Lighting
 Lightning
 Noise pollution
 Quicksand
 Ultraviolet light
 vibration
 X-rays

Biological

Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, refer to biological substances that pose a threat to the health of
living organisms, primarily that of humans. This can include medical waste or samples of a microorganism, virus
or toxin (from a biological source) that can affect human health.

 Allergies
 Arbovirus
 Avian influenza
 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE)
 Cholera
 Ebola
 Epidemics
 Food poisoning
 Malaria
 Molds
 Onchocerciasis (river blindness)
 Pandemics
 Pathogens
 Pollen for allergic people
 Rabies
 Severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS)
 Sick building syndrome

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Psychosocial Hazards

Psychosocial hazards include but aren't limited to stress, violence, and other workplace stressors. Work is generally
beneficial to mental health and personal wellbeing. It provides people with structure and purpose and a sense of
identy.

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 Conclusion

It is true that in order to improve and protect the environment from pollution sustainability must be there between
environment and development. The concept of sustainable development based on the notion that natural resources
should be exploited for the benefit of both present and future generation. As we know that increased industrial
activity worldwide requires the use of natural resources which are depleting day by day. It is also true that the need
for resource conservation, efficient use of resources and environment friendly corporate policies and behaviour has
now been recognised worldwide. The country needs an Environmental policy and planning, while being globally
sensitive must be based on local needs. Finally, if sustainable development has to move from mere wishful
thinking and slogan-mongering into a reality, the world (developed and developing) as a whole has to move
towards a new world order in which new economic and technological orders are dovetailed. Such an order has to
be aimed at benefiting the poor because in the chain of sustainable development, the weakest links are poverty and
inequality. Last but not least, if the principles of sustainable development are followed then definitely with the
economic growth and industrial development of a country environment protection can be maintained.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1641/Sustainable-Development,-Guiding-Principles-And-
Values.html
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_hazard

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